How to Discuss Suicide, Depression & Facing Adversity. Mark Henick: Author, Speaker & Suicide Survivor

Mark Henick’s hit viral TEDx talk about the stranger who saved his life has been viewed and shared millions of times.

Over the last two decades, he has appeared in hundreds of television, radio, print and online features about mental health. His bylines include CNN, CNBC, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, and many others. PEOPLE Magazine called Mark “one of Canada’s most prominent mental health advocates”.

He's previously served on the board of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and as the youngest ever president of a Canadian Mental Health Association division. As host and executive producer for both the So-Called Normal and Living Well podcasts, he's had hundreds of conversations with experts, celebrities, and public figures about mental health.

Mark's first book, So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression, and Resilience, was released in 2021. Rosie O’Donnell described it as “beautifully written, heart-wrenching, and hopeful.”

Presently, Mark runs a boutique mental health media consulting firm, and he's an in-demand international keynote storyteller on recovery, resilience, and connection.

In this episode, Mark discusses the  following questions and  topics:

• Does talking about suicide encourage people to commit suicide?
• Is there a right way or a  wrong way to talk about suicide?
• Is talking about your problems are you liberating and cathartic process?
• What did you experience while writing the book?
• How do we deal with rumination and negative thinking spirals?
• How can we become self-aware?
• How important are boundaries? How do we set them?
• What are some protocol or practices you could recommend to be coming more resilient?
• What is compartmentalisation and how can we use it?

REFERENCES:

So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression, and Resilience 

by Mark Henick           
            Paperback
            Kindle Format
            Audiobook

A vital and triumphant story of perseverance and recovery by one of Canada’s foremost advocates for mental health

When Mark Henick was a teenager in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, he was overwhelmed by depression and anxiety that led to a series of increasingly dangerous suicide attempts. One night, he climbed onto a bridge over an overpass and stood in the wind, clinging to a girder. Someone shouted, “Jump, you coward!” Another man, a stranger in a brown coat, talked to him quietly, calmly and with deep empathy. Just as Henick’s feet touched open air, the man in the brown coat encircled his chest and pulled him to safety. This near-death experience changed Henick’s life forever. 

So-Called Normal is Henick’s memoir about growing up in a broken home and the events that led to that fateful night on the bridge. It is a vivid and personal account of the mental health challenges he experienced in childhood and his subsequent journey toward healing and recovery. 

Mark's contact information:
 
Website:           https://markhenick.com/
Facebook:       @MarkHenick 
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